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Consonant

NG Sound

The NG sound is a voiced velar nasal consonant. It is made by blocking airflow in the mouth with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velum) and allowing air to pass through the nose while vibrating the vocal cords. It appears in words like "sing", "king", and "long".

ng
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):ng

Watch the Sound

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Example Words

Main Example

sing
Phonetic: /sɪŋ/

Common Words

sing/sɪŋ/
ring/rɪŋ/
king/kɪŋ/
long/lɔŋ/
strong/strɔŋ/
wing/wɪŋ/
morning/ˈmɔrnɪŋ/
language/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
evening/ˈivnɪŋ/
thanks/θæŋks/

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

ng
sin
/sɪn/
Compare with
S
sing
/sɪŋ/
ng
run
/rʌn/
Compare with
R
rung
/rʌŋ/
ng
fan
/fæn/
Compare with
F
fang
/fæŋ/
ng
thin
/θɪn/
Compare with
T
thing
/θɪŋ/
ng
sink
/sɪŋk/
Compare with
S
sing
/sɪŋ/

Tongue Twister

The strong king sang the wrong song.

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryConsonant
  • VoicingVoiced
  • Place of ArticulationVelar
  • Manner of ArticulationNasal
  • Mouth PositionRaise the back of your tongue to press against the soft palate (velum), creating a seal like for /k/ or /g/. Lower the velum to allow air to flow out through the nose. Vibrate your vocal cords. The lips and tongue tip are not involved.